The present invention relates generally to electronic commerce and financial transactions. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for providing secure environment to carry out electronic payments or other financial transactions over the Internet or other open network using the existing secure network, such as the automated teller machine (ATM) or point-of-sale (POS) network maintained by NYCE®, CIRRUS®, etc.
According to a recent article of a major business newspaper, electronic commerce via the Internet has seen a significant increase over the last year. As more and more people are attracted by the convenience and advantages of on-line shopping and to attract even greater number of customers, Web merchants need to address several issues concerning e-commerce.
First and foremost is the issue of security. Fraud in transactions may cost Web merchants many thousands of dollars in lost revenues. Furthermore, to do on-line purchases without any reservations, customers need to feel safe and assured that their confidential information will not be intercepted and misused by fraudulent users or by an unscrupulous merchant.
Also quite important is the second issue relating to on-line purchases, which is ease and convenience. Web merchants need Web sites that are user-friendly for e-commerce transactions, allowing even a novice computer user to purchase goods and/or services with minimum of experience and knowledge. In addition, the amount of effort expended on transactions is likely to be directly proportional to the customer's attention span and time. Customers have to be enabled to do a transaction quickly on a Web site because of today's fast paced environment, or the Web merchant risks losing that customer.
Currently, to make a purchase over the Internet, Web merchants' sites require purchasers to complete a long form by providing personal information on-line. It is not uncommon for customers to fill in a form consisting of several pages. To enter all the requested information, the customers must scroll down to see the entire form or go to another page for continuation. In addition, if one of the requested items of information, such as name, address, e-mail address, phone numbers, etc., is accidentally skipped by the customer, he is required to return to the form to add the missing information. Furthermore, entering information on-line is subject to typographical errors causing problems for Web merchants and customers alike.
Furthermore, the conventional Web merchant site offers an option of phoning in the card information if the customer does not feel safe in providing his/her credit card or debit card information. Such option, however, partially defeats the advantages enjoyed by the merchant in selling goods and/or services via the Internet. Attending to customer information supplied over the phone is not only time-consuming but it requires the Web merchant to have staff for manning the phones and to maintain a sufficient number of lines. The additional expenses for the Web merchant and other attendant problems, such as forgetting to phone in the credit card information for example, present additional disadvantages of the current systems and techniques for performing electronic transactions over the Internet.
A need therefore exists for a system and method that addresses the above concerns and overcomes the disadvantages of conventional on-line payment systems.